Will The Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up?

August 21, 2015

— By
Dena P

OK, so 2015 is heading into its home stretch, and the last time anyone saw Eminem for any length of time was on Nov. 5, 2014. And boy, did he make an impression during that appearance, too.

Eminem went to New York City to present at the Wall Street Journal’s Innovator of the Year Awards. He honoured Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, the founders of Beats Audio, with awards for their new Beats headphones line. Eminem joked about the power of these two men and their ability to coax him to fly to New York from Detroit to speak in public, even though he “hates public speaking.”

Older Than His Years?

This was Eminem’s first appearance after another long lapse that had preceded it. Those in attendance as well as those who saw the photos online later noticed something disturbing: Eminem looked gaunt, haggard, and much older than his 42 years.

Where does Eminem go when he disappears, and what is happening to him? How come he looks a good 10 years older than his biological age?

Eminem came clean about a drug addiction years back, but he attended rehab and by all accounts has stayed sober. However, his frequent absences from the public eye as well as his changing appearance are causing many to wonder if he has fallen off the wagon. We hope for Em’s sake that this isn’t true and perhaps he’s just trying a vegan diet or something.

Reclusive Rapper, or Replacement Clone?

Credit: Mika Vaisanen/Wikipedia

Eminem is one of the highest-selling rappers of all time, so his fans become frustrated when they don’t see more of him. At this time, there are no tours or appearances planned.

While Eminem has released music during his various lapses, public appearances have become very few and far between. He did a radio spot with Sway in the Morning in late July of 2015 and very much sounded like himself; however, there is no video available of this interview. This is somewhat strange because Sway usually posts YouTube videos of the interviews with his guests.

So, what is going on with Eminem? If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, listen to the conspiracy theorists that say the old Eminem died around the time he was battling drug addiction, and was then replaced with a clone. It’s rumoured that the serum used to “grow up” replacement clones rapidly doesn’t have an “off” switch yet, which can lead to premature ageing.

No matter what you believe, it will be interesting to see what Eminem looks like when he finally shows his face again.